Area (nightclub)

Micheal Alig worked as a barback and busboy. The club was known for its unusual invitations.

The club was founded by brothers Eric Goode and Christopher Goode, Shawn Hausman and Darius Azari. The brick building housing Area was originally built in 1866 to house the stables of the American Express Company.

The club was open from Wednesday to Saturday, 11 pm till 4 am.

Area attracted many celebrities. Writing for Details was Stephen Saben and Michael Musto, writing for The Village Voice magazine, these tabloids chronicled the doings there, and looked back on the phenomenon in Musto's book, Downtown.

There are several mentions of Area in Andy Warhol's diaries. Ben Buchanan was the official photographer for the club and was there most nights documenting the scene. These photos were in Details every month and often in the New York Post and Daily News.

Demise

Of the "three hot clubs" in lower Manhattan in the 1980s—Area, Limelight, and Danceteria - Area "[died] a natural death",
Limelight survived with a less artistic clientele, and Danceteria "[gave] way to expensive office space".

History

The areas as they now exist were formed in January 1984. Prior to that time, general authorities served as "area supervisors" and at times resided outside of Salt Lake City. In 1984, 13 initial areas were created; by 1992 there were 22, and by early 2007 there were 31. As of August 2012 there are 25 areas.

Administration

Until 2003, each area had a president and two counselors, all of whom were typically general authorities (area seventies were sometimes asked to be counselors). This three-man body was known as the area presidency. In that year, the church eliminated area presidencies for all areas located in the United States and Canada. Each of these areas were placed under the direct supervision of one of the seven members of the Presidency of the Seventy, thus freeing more general authorities from specific area assignments. Since these areas were previously administered by area presidencies located at church headquarters in Salt Lake City, the administrative change was not as drastic as it might seem.